Starting June 2, 2025, Amazon's promotional fee structure has been completely restructured, the cost of mainstream promotional tools such as coupons, Lightning Deals and Best Deals has risen dramatically, and inefficient forms of promotion will affect profits.
What Are Amazon Deal Fees?
Amazon charges fees for running time-bound promotions like Lightning Deals and Best Deals, which are displayed with special merchandising through the Deals Badge. These promotions can significantly increase visibility and sales, but sellers must pay fees whether or not the Deal performs well.(Best Deal is known in China as“Z划算”)
Deal Fees Notes
Fees apply after the Deal runs and are charged to your account.
If a Deal is canceled while running, the full fee will still be charged.
Refunds are not provided for poor-performing Deals or returned items.
Running multiple promotions (e.g., Deals and Coupons) incurs separate fees for each type.
Coupon fee structure
5 fixed fee per coupon in advance, plus a variable fee of 2.5% of coupon sales
If the item achieves $4,200 in sales through the coupon, the total cost would be $110 ($5 upfront + 4,200 x 2.5%). Compared to the previous fixed cost of $0.6 per transaction, the new rules directly linked to the sales of the fee model on the impact of high-unit-price goods significantly.
| Example | Coupon Upfront Fee | Total Coupon Sales | Coupon Variable Fee | Total Coupon Fee |
| 1 | $5 | $4,200 | $105.00 | $110.00 |
| 2 | $5 | $5,800 | $145.00 | $150.00 |
| 3 | $5 | $7,500 | $187.50 | $192.50 |
Sellers now need to be more careful when opening coupons, before you can switch coupons at will, now every time you open the “price”, the degree of freedom is greatly reduced, the cost pressure on the seller is also greater.
In addition, Amazon synchronized to adjust the non-peak season promotion policy.That is, the fees for Lightning Sale and Best Sale have been changed from fixed prepayment to a floating model of "$70 base fee + 1% of sales" (up to $2,000).While peak season activities (such as Prime Day), the original high fixed fee ($1,000 for Best Deals and $500 for Lightning Deals.), but Amazon clearly indicated that it will extend the time of Prime Day to attract more traffic.
Updated Fee Structure (Effective June 2, 2025)
| Example | Event | Upfront Fee and Duration | Total Deal Sales | Total Upfront Fee | Deal Variable Fee | Total Deal Fee |
| 1 | Non-Peak days | $70 x 14 days | $4,200 | $980.00 | $42.00 | $1,022.00 |
| 2 | Non-Peak days | $70 x 3 days | $900 | $210.00 | $9.00 | $219.00 |
| 3 | Non-Peak days | $70 x 14 days | $250,000 | $980.00 | $2,000.00 (you will not be charged beyond the $2,000.00 cap) | $2,980.00 |
According to the analysis, $24 has emerged as a key threshold for sellers to consider when planning their promotional strategies.
For products priced at $24 or higher, the combination of variable fees and upfront costs can significantly erode promotional margins.
Sellers need to carefully evaluate whether running Deals for higher-priced items is worth the investment, as the fees may outweigh the benefits.
Products priced below $24 can benefit from Amazon’s promotional tools by increasing the number of redemptions and extending the promotion duration.
By doing so, sellers can effectively dilute the cost-per-redemption, making Deals more cost-effective and yielding a better return on investment.
04 Jun, 2025
